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VERTIGO
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Oct 2021
CD
$10.49

SOLID
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Oct 2021
CD
$10.49

Bach: St. John Passion (The Koln Recording) / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

BIS

SACD

$34.99 Sep 04, 2020

On 6 of March 2020, Bach Collegium Japan began their long-awaited 30th anniversary tour of Europe with a performance of Bach's St John Passion in Katowice, Poland. The same week Europe was becoming aware of the very stark reality of the threat posed by the new Corona virus, Covid-19. Consequently, as Masaaki Suzuki and his ensemble went on to perform in Dublin and then London, concert halls across Europe were closing down and the remaining tour dates were cancelled. Before making their return to Japan, the BCJ agreed with the Kölner Philharmonie to go ahead with the concert that had been planned, in the form of a live streaming without an audience. This meant that the ensemble had time on their hands, and the idea was born to use it for making a recording.

Having received permission to use the hall of the Philharmonie for the recording, Bach Collegium Japan and BIS jointly decided to go ahead with the idea, and during a few hectic hours arrangements were made for a recording team to come to Cologne. Over the next few days, Suzuki, the BCJ and a team of soloists headed by James Gilchrist as the Evangelist, recorded Bach's rendering of the Passion of Christ, finishing just ahead of complete lockdown. Their efforts are now available as a testimony not only to the drama of Bach's score, but also to the urgency of a week when the world changed.

‘The spread of the virus created an urgency and energy that rendered this a very dramatic performance’, he continues. ‘The music itself has such incredible power of course, and in this situation, it was somehow doubled. Looking back, it was all like a miracle, and even now it seems like a dream. The tension of the whole experience, combined with the drama of the St John Passion, will stay in our minds forever.’ - Masaako Suzuki

REVIEWS:

Here we have a reading that feels as if, deep in the psyche of the performers, they know this is all happening close to the wire. Gilchrist is again on masterly form, risking pinpoint precision for graphic description in a way that makes the experience feel ‘live’ in every respect. Suzuki takes us as co-travellers in a search of faith, not necessarily assuming us all as believers.

– Gramophone (Awards Issue, 2020)

Despite the hurried nature of the production, engineering is top-notch, and even if the bass is more pronounced this time around, there is an ideal blend of analytical clarity and warmth, both on SACD and regular stereo. No single interpretation can capture every aspect of this monumental music. But Suzuki’s latest is his finest, and belongs in the library of anyone who loves this work – urgently recommended.

– Classical CD Review

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Bach: St. John Passion (The Koln Recording) / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS Sep 2020
SACD
$34.99

Okinawa - Classical and Courtly Songs of the Ryukyu

Ocora Radio-France

$20.99 Sep 11, 2012

The Okinawa archipelago (formerly the independent kingdom of Ryukyu) is situated at a crossroads of cultural influences (Japan, China and South East Asia). Blending these elements, Okinawa developed an original musical style, demonstrated here with a collection of classical and courtly songs accompanied on the sanshin lute. Performers include National Living Treasure Choichi Terukina, as well as Shinjin Kise and Masaya Yamauchi.

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Okinawa - Classical and Courtly Songs of the Ryukyu
Ocora Radio-France Sep 2012
CD
$20.99

SEPTEMBER 17 1969
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Jul 2021
CD
$11.99

NOW HE SINGS NOW HE SOBS
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Dec 2024
CD
$19.49

Bach: Concertos for Harpsichord & Strings, Vol. 1 / Masato Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Jun 05, 2020

The extant concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach for one harpsichord and strings were all composed before 1738, which makes them some of the first, if not the first keyboard concertos – a genre destined to become one of the most popular within classical music. In all likelihood Bach wrote them for his own use (or that of his talented sons) – probably to be performed with Leipzig’s Collegium Musicum of which he had taken over as director in 1729. The fresh and exuberant character one finds in the concertos seems to reflect how much Bach enjoyed the opportunity to engage with his fellow musicians. But much of the music itself was in fact not new – despite how idiomatic they may sound, many of Bach’s harpsichord concertos are almost certainly transcriptions of earlier works written for other instruments. Some of these original works are no longer extant, but it is nevertheless possible to trace the ancestry of BWV 1052 and the outer movements of BWV 1056 to lost violin concertos, while BWV 1053 is a reworking of three cantata movements which in turn probably hailed from a lost organ concerto.

A similar case is BWV 1059, which is known to us in a nine-bar fragment in Bach’s original score. But an earlier version of the piece – a concerto for organ – has survived in the form of three movements of Cantata No. 35, Geist und Seele wird verwirret, and these have served as basis for Masato Suzuki's reconstruction of the work included on the present album. It is also Masato Suzuki who performs the solo parts, while directing his colleagues in Bach Collegium Japan.

REVIEWS:

The idea of a dynasty is present in the history of the Bach family, so it is not inappropriate to mention the same idea in connection with the father-and-son combination of Masato and Masaaki Suzuki in terms of that remarkable enterprise, Bach Collegium Japan. Masato features here as keyboard virtuoso, directing the performances from the harpsichord. His remarkable virtuosity is beautifully projected by BIS’s excellent SACD recording. Every note is clear in a wonderfully ambient acoustic.

This generously compiled combination of masterworks, with its added bonus of a new rarity, will bring great enjoyment to the listener, in terms of both the excellent sound and the sparkling performances.

-- MusicWeb International

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Bach: Concertos for Harpsichord & Strings, Vol. 1 / Masato Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS Jun 2020
SACD
$21.99

BLOWIN THE BLUES AWAY
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Oct 2025
CD
$21.99

Mix & Match

First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings [Vinyl]

BLUE NOTE RECORDS

Vinyl

$46.99 Dec 10, 2021

Click here to view the CD version.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - "First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings" - A previously unreleased live recording of drum legend Art Blakey with a classic line-up of the Jazz Messengers, trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt. It was captured on January 14, 1961, at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo during the band's first-ever tour of Japan. Co-produced by Zev Feldman and David Weiss, the audio was newly transferred from the original 1/4" tape reels. First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings [2 LP]

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First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings [Vinyl]
BLUE NOTE RECORDS Dec 2021
Vinyl
$46.99

FIRST FLIGHT TO TOKYO: THE LOST 1961 RECORDINGS

BLUE NOTE RECORDS

Vinyl

$46.99 Dec 10, 2021

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FIRST FLIGHT TO TOKYO: THE LOST 1961 RECORDINGS
BLUE NOTE RECORDS Dec 2021
Vinyl
$46.99

Bach: Cantatas Vol 2 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

BIS

$21.99 Feb 01, 1996

My enthusiasm for Volume 1 in the Bach Collegium Japan's cycle of Bach's cantatas continues here in a program that includes a work (BWV 131) based on conductor Masaaki Suzuki's favorite psalm, number 130. (In the notes to the first volume Suzuki candidly declares how important his Christian convictions are to his interpretations, and describes his relationship to Bach as "fellows in faith"). Though thematically based on the depths and multitudes of sin, Bach's settings here are not entirely solemn--nor are Suzuki's spirited renderings. The opening selection, Gott ist mein König, begins with a striking choral "Gott!" followed by enough resounding brass and percussion to simultaneously excite the layman and instill joyous consolation among the faithful. Bass Peter Kooy's more somber though equally compelling fourth-movement aria "Tag und Nacht ist dein" couldn't be more lovely; as the singer muses over God's omniscient reach, he's partnered by a lingering melody that anticipates the composer's famous Sinfonia in C. Likewise countertenor Yoshikazu Mera shines in his brief aria "Durch mächtige Kraft", accompanied only by a trio of trumpet, organ, and timpani.

Arguably one of Bach's most angst-ridden cantatas, Aus der Tiefe rufe ich Herr, zu dir gets a reading that equals if not surpasses Günther Ramin's legendary 1952 account (a statement heretofore unimaginable). Though nearly as dramatically slow in tempo as Ramin, Suzuki often subtly mutes the choir, which heightens the overall impression of humility, misery, despair, and lifelong repentance. Also unlike Ramin, who unfortunately had only less-than-accurate editions at his disposal, Suzuki includes an additional soprano (Midori Suzuki) whose sublime laments beautifully complement Kooy's second-movement aria.

From Bach's so-called "Mühlhausen period" (where he held the post of organist at Mühlhausen's Church of St. Blasius) his Actus Tragicus funeral cantata (Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit) remains his most popular and oft-recorded work. While long-standing favorite recordings include such diverse readings as Karl Richter's grand Munich Bach Orchestra modern-instrument performance and the Collegium Aureum's much more intimate original-instrument account, Suzuki again successfully combines the best of both approaches. The famed opening instrumental sonatina couldn't be more graceful and appropriately suggestive of another world. As well, tenor Gerd Türk and countertenor Yoshikazu Mera deliver exceptionally lovely performances, particularly in the third-movement choral. This Actus Tragicus surely is one of the best, if not the best currently available (both of the recordings mentioned above are scarce imports). BIS again complements Suzuki's achievement with state-of-the-art sonics and engaging and informative booklet notes by Suzuki and Tadashi Isoyama. Highly recommended. [3/5/2003]
--John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

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Bach: Cantatas Vol 2 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS Feb 1996
CD
$21.99

Japanese Orchestral Favourites - Ifukube, Akutagawa, Et Al
Naxos May 2002
CD
$19.99

JAPAN: NAGAUTA
Ocora Radio-France Feb 2001
CD
$20.99

CHICO HAMILTON & THE PLAYERS
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Oct 2021
CD
$10.49

Ifukube & Janacek: Japan Czech Inspiration / Iwasaki, Pilsen Philharmonic

Ars Produktion

$20.99 Oct 21, 2022

Akira Ifukube writes: “The folk song! I have been living in it since my childhood. A folk song contains the whole person: his body, his soul, his environment, everything around him. Whoever grows up with national music grows into a complete person. A folk song has a spirit because it contains a real human being, whose culture was endowed by God and not acquired from outside. With this emotional and absolutely honest statement, Leoš Janácek summed up his lifelong fascination with folk songs during a stay in London in 1926. For Leoš Janácek (1854-1928), folklore was undoubtedly one of the essential sources of his work as a composer. Moravian Dances, Lachian Dances, and Suite for Orchestra, Op. 3, are heard on this release.

"Akira Ifukube (1914-2006) was one of the greatest composers on the contemporary music scene in his native country. At the same time, he provided Western listeners with an insight into Japanese musical culture. Although he became famous for his film music - he composed the scores of more than 250 films, of which the Godzilla series is particularly well known - his heart belonged to the world of classical music. His Japanese Suite, composed in 1933, is heard here. Ifukube wrote it after listening to recordings of Spanish music played by American pianist George Copeland (1882-1971). The original piano version of the suite is dedicated to Copeland. The first movement was performed by Alexander Tcherepnin in 1936; the entire piano suite was first performed at the Venice Festival of Contemporary Music in 1938. The orchestral version of the piano suite was written decades later and premiered in 1991."

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Ifukube & Janacek: Japan Czech Inspiration / Iwasaki, Pilsen Philharmonic
Ars Produktion Oct 2022
CD
$20.99

Bach: Cantatas Vol 24 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

BIS

$21.99 Mar 01, 2004

Each new volume of J.S. Bach's church cantatas continues to attract accolades from the musical press. The excellence of the Bach Collegium Japan led by their inspirational director Masaaki Suzuki and with a line-up of some of the best and most experienced vocal soloists are know entities. Everyone is pretty much in agreement: the cantatas have been entrusted to the best possible interpreters who take endless pains in preparing the recordings and still manage to convey the frisson of a live performance. Perhaps what makes these recordings so special is the fact that the listener is constantly astounded at the quality of the music itself. We still nourish a romantic view of genius and think of a musical masterpiece as the product of a great and painful labour. Yet Bach produced a whole succession of masterpieces, week after week, in order to fulfil his obligations as Cantor of the Thomas Church in Leipzig. The present disc is a fine example of Bach's development of the Church Cantata. The three cantatas are for 'ordinary' Sundays in the liturgical year - 11th, 13th and 16th Sundays after Trinity. They were written in Bach's second year as Thomas cantor in 1724. And they excellently demonstrate Bach's desire to make use of the post-Reformation hymnbook in his liturgical works. Whereas the earlier cantatas had been based on the gospel of the day on which they were to be sung, Bach now began to concentrate on illuminating various familiar hymns - possibly in an attempt to involve the congregation more closely in the service. This is the 24th volume of our cycle of Bach cantatas. It seems almost as though the recordings have an addictive quality for demand continues to increase! The present volume is in the best traditions of the series, featuring Cantata veterans Yukari Nonoshita, Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk, Peter Kooij and a wealth of striking music. Another must from the Bach Collegium Japan and BIS..

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Bach: Cantatas Vol 24 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS Mar 2004
CD
$21.99

MONK'S MUSIC
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Oct 2025
CD
$24.49

Mix & Match

Rie Yanagisawa: Kurokami - Traditional Music of Japan
Saydisc Mar 2005
CD
$20.99

TATUM GROUP MASTERPIECES
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Oct 2025
CD
$21.99

Mix & Match

Hosokawa / Penderecki / Norgard: Viola Space Japan 10th Anniversary
BIS May 2003
CD
$34.99

PORTRAIT IN JAZZ
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Oct 2025
CD
$21.99

Mix & Match

Bach: English Suites / Masaaki Suzuki

BIS

SACD

$34.99 May 03, 2019

A busy schedule as music director of the Bach Collegium Japan and sought-after guest conductor doesn’t stop Masaaki Suzuki from returning to his first loves, the organ and the harpsichord. With the present release he adds yet another chapter to his series of Bach’s works for solo harpsichord. After acclaimed recordings of the Well-tempered Clavier, the Goldberg variations, the French Suites and other works the turn has come to the English Suites. Composed while Bach was in his thirties it precedes other sets such as the French Suites and the Toccatas, and in his liner notes, Bach scholar Yo Tomita draws attention to 'the stylistic traits of a youthful and ambitious composer wanting to make his mark through the use of counterpoint and virtuosity'. Despite its title, the collection has very little to do with England, at least musically: the six suites are instead rooted in the French tradition, and show certain striking similarities to the composer Charles Dieupart’s Six Suites pour le Clavessin from 1701. (Bach made a copy of Dieupart's set sometime between 1709 and 1716.) It was only in the 19th century that the suites became known as the 'English', based on a never substantiated claim that the set was commissioned by an English nobleman.

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Bach: English Suites / Masaaki Suzuki
BIS May 2019
SACD
$34.99

CRAZY & MIXED UP
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Oct 2025
CD
$24.49

Mix & Match

Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 8 - Celebratory Cantatas / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Jun 02, 2017

Besides the fact that they both celebrate Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, there is a close connection between the two works included on the eighth volume of Bach's secular cantatas. On October 2nd, 1734, the King and his family made a surprise visit to Leipzig, and in all haste a festive event was planned for three days later, in celebration of the anniversary of Augustus's ascension to the Polish throne. Bach was asked to provide the musical entertainment, and consequently had to put aside the work he was busy composing...namely BWV 206 ''Schleicht, spielende Wellen'', intended for a celebration of the King's birthday on October 7th! The new cantata, Preise dein Glucke, gesegnetes Sachsen, BWV 215, is a substantial work, and it is not surprising that Bach, with only a few days to produce it, had recourse to earlier compositions: the only parts that were written completely from scratch were the recitatives, the soprano aria and the final chorus.

In the meantime, BWV 206 - the birthday cantata that Bach had to put on hold - came to good use two years later, when the King's birthday was celebrated with a concert at Zimmermann's coffee house in Leipzig. Both works are richly scored with trumpets and timpani, and here receive suitably festive performances form Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki.

REVIEW:

Schleicht, spielende Wellen (‘Flow, playful waves and murmur’) follows the dramma per musica template of allegory – this time with four competing rivers yearning for the primacy of the monarch’s affections. However ludicrous, Bach constructs a very significant work which Suzuki treats as an undertaking of serious critical engagement. After 22 years of intensive Bach recording, Suzuki and his forces just seem to get better.

– Gramophone

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Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 8 - Celebratory Cantatas / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS Jun 2017
SACD
$21.99

Bach: Cantatas Vol 44 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Jul 01, 2009

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Rachel Nicholls, soprano; Robin Blaze, counter-tenor; Gerd Turk,tenor; Peter Kooij, bass; Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATAS, VOLUME 44: Wir mussen durch viel Trubsal in das Reich Gottes eingehen, BWV 146; Siehe, ich willviel Rischer aussenden, BWV 88; Gott fahret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43.

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Bach: Cantatas Vol 44 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS Jul 2009
SACD
$21.99